Current and foreseeable policies to mitigate carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions from global transport activity will not suffice to achieve the international community’s climate ambitions, a new study published by the International Transport Forum (ITF) finds.
José Viegas, Secretary-General of International Transport Forum (ITF)
Continued strong growth in demand for mobility means that even in the most optimistic scenario, transport CO2 emissions in 2050 will still be at 2015 levels of around 7.5 giga-tonnes, according to projections published in the ITF Transport Outlook 2017.
This scenario already assumes that new technologies and changed behaviour lead to significantly less CO2 being emitted in relation to the total distance travelled. In the ITF Transport Outlook’s less optimistic baseline scenario, a doubling of global transport demand will lead to an increase of transport CO2 emissions of 60% between 2015 and 2050.
“We need to both accelerate innovation and make radical policy choices to decarbonise transport”, said ITF Secretary-General José Viegas on the occasion of the launch.
“Technology will provide about 70% of the possible CO2 reductions to 2050. The rest will come from doing things differently, and this is where there is still a lot of potential. We need to think much harder about things like shared mobility, changes in supply chains and even new transport modes.”
A key factor for the difficulty in reducing transport CO2 emissions over the long run is shifting global trade patterns. As trade moves to regions with a lack of rail or waterway infrastructure, greenhouse gas emissions from road freight will almost double. Driven by more trade among the region’s emerging economies, freight transport on intra-Asian routes will grow particularly strongly, by 250% to 2050. Operational measures such as truck-sharing, route optimisation or relaxation of delivery windows to optimise use of transport capacity would help to mitigate the emission increases here.
Urban mobility is another area of concern. Car use in cities is set to double by 2050, as fast-growing emerging economies meet mobility demand. According to the ITF analysis, cities can keep the number of cars constant at the 2015 level if they act now to put in place integrated land-use and transport policies, use pricing to manage mobility patterns and invest in accessibility through public transport.
“With the right policy mix, even fast-growing cities will be in a position provide today’s level of mobility to citizens but in a more sustainable way,” notes Jari Kauppila, Head of Modelling and Statistics at ITF.
Nearly 20 leading global banks and investors, totaling $6.6 trillion in assets, on Monday, 30 January 2017 in Paris, France launched the Principles for Positive Impact Finance – a first-of-its-kind set of criteria for investments to be considered sustainable.
French Finance Minister, Michel Sapin
“The Principles are a timely initiative from the finance sector. They demonstrate the willingness of financial institutions to go beyond current practices and to contribute to foster a more sustainable development,” said French Finance Minister, Michel Sapin. “They should provide strengthened foundations for a positive cooperation between public and private actors in this area.”
“Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – the global action plan to end poverty, combat climate change and protect the environment – is expected to cost $5 to 7 trillion every year through 2030,” said Eric Usher, head of the UN Environment Finance Initiative.
“The Positive Impact Principles are a game changer, which will help to channel the hundreds of trillions of dollars managed by banks and investors towards clean, low carbon and inclusive projects.”
The Principles provide financiers and investors with a global framework applicable across their different business lines, including retail and wholesale lending, corporate and investment lending and asset management.
“With global challenges such as climate change, population growth and resource scarcity accelerating, there is an increased urgency for the finance sector both to adapt and to help bring about the necessary changes in our economic and business models. The Principles for Positive Impact Finance provide an ambitious yet practical framework by which we can take the broader angle view we need to meet the deeply complex and interconnected challenges of our time,” said Séverin Cabannes, Deputy CEO of Société Générale, a founding member of the group.
The four Positive Impact Principles provide guidance for financiers and investors to analyse, monitor and disclose the social, environmental and economic impacts of the financial products and services they deliver.
The innovation of the Principles lies in the requirement for a holistic appraisal of positive and negative impacts on economic development, human well-being and the environment.
The Principles do not prescribe a single method for achieving positive impact, but they require that appraisal processes and methodologies be transparent.
The Principles are part of a broader process under the Positive Impact Manifesto, launched in 2015 to call for a new, impact-based financing paradigm to bridge the gap in financing for sustainable development.
“We welcome the launch of UN Environment Finance Initiative’s Principles for Positive Impact Finance because we believe that the purpose of investment goes beyond the simple quest for accumulation of wealth. We can make sustainable development happen through targeted resource allocation and effective stewardship and advocacy, leading to truly impactful and sustainable businesses which deliver goods and services, which savers value and can afford and in a social environment they want to live in,” said Saker Nusseibeh, CEO of Hermes Investment Management.
“The Principles are the tool that is needed to enable the business and finance community to work and innovate together, and to address the challenge of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The financial sector has already moved forward in that direction and we hope that the Principles as well as the Paris Green and Sustainable Finance Initiative we launched last year will help marking a new stage,” said Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman of Paris EUROPLACE and Chairman of the Board of ENGIE.
“In many ways this is the beginning rather than the conclusion of a process,” said Hervé Guez, Head of SRI Research at Mirova. “The Principles build on existing frameworks, such as the UN Global Compact, the Equator Principles, the Principles for Responsible Investment and the Green Bond Principles. The group will be collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders and partners to further the implementation of the Principles,” he added.
“As financial institution we support our clients in their transition to a sustainable economy. By integrating environmental and social considerations and actively supporting sustainable business opportunities to grow we can realize change. By placing positive impact at the heart of business strategy, the Principles for Positive Impact Finance are an ambitious and necessary new milestone on the road to a greener and more inclusive economy,” said Paul-Emmanuel Aaerts, Head of ING Wholesale Banking France.
“In addition to our commitments as individual financial institutions, deeper cooperation between financiers, governments, technology providers and investors is needed to effectively deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Séverin Cabannes, Deputy CEO of Société Générale, a founding member of the group.
“The Principles are an inspiring step forward. BMCE Bank of Africa is expanding across the continent and it is clear to us that we must be an integral part of delivering the solutions to the many needs that prevail in the countries we operate in. The Principles provide a good framework for this,” said Brahim Benjelloun-Touimi, Group Executive Managing Director, BMCE Bank of Africa and Chairman of BOA Group.
“Investment managers are exploring new frontiers in ESG investing, looking for links between business opportunities and environmental and social impacts. The UN Environment Finance Initiative Principles for Positive Impact Finance put sustainability issues on the agenda for a new generation of investors and companies alike,” said Michael Jantzi, CEO, Sustainalytics.
“The Principles for Positive Impact Finance build on the sound values promoted by the UN Global Compact, providing a holistic approach to the financing of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” said Gavin Power, Deputy Director of the UN Global Compact. “We are committed to help promote these Principles with our constituencies and partners, as part of our Action Platform on Catalysing Financial Innovation for the SDGs.”
“The need to align capital markets to a 2 degree world is urgent and necessary,” said Fiona Reynolds, Managing Director of the Principles for Responsible Investment. “The UN Environment Finance Initiative Principles for Positive Impact Finance are an important tool for investors to frame their positive contribution to the environment, the society and the economy.”
The Principles For Positive Impact Finance were developed by the Positive Impact Working Group, a group of UN Environment Finance Initiative banking and investment members, as part of the implementation of the roadmap outlined in the Positive Impact Manifesto released in October 2015.
Currently, the Positive Impact Working Group includes: Australian Ethical, Banco Itaú, BNP Paribas, BMCE Bank of Africa, Caisse des Dépôts Group, Desjardins Group, First Rand, Hermes Investment Management, ING, Mirova, NedBank, Pax World, Piraeus Bank, SEB, Société Générale, Standard Bank, Triodos Bank, Westpac and YES Bank.
The UN Environment Finance Initiative is a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the global financial sector created in the wake of the 1992 Earth Summit with a mission to promote sustainable finance. Over 200 financial institutions, including banks, insurers and fund managers, work with UNEP to understand today’s environmental challenges, why they matter to finance, and how to actively participate in addressing them.
Among the 10 commitments, the Heads of State have resolved to increase vaccine-related funding, strengthen supply chains and delivery systems, as well as make universal access to vaccines a cornerstone of health and development efforts
Outgoing African Union Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The Heads of State have adopted the Addis Declaration on Immunisation, a historic and timely pledge to ensure that everyone in Africa receives the full benefits of immunisation
Heads of State from across Africa on Thursday, 31 January 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, adopted a Declaration on Universal Access to Immunisation in Africa, in which they endorsed the Addis Declaration on Immunisation, a historic and timely pledge to ensure that everyone in Africa – regardless of who they are or where they live – receives the full benefits of immunisation. The endorsement was issued during the 28th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
While Africa has made impressive gains over the last 15 years toward increasing access to immunisation, progress has stagnated, and the continent is falling behind on meeting global immunisation targets. One in five children in Africa still does not receive basic life-saving vaccines and, as a result, vaccine-preventable diseases continue to claim too many lives. Measles alone accounts for approximately 61,000 preventable deaths in the African region every year.
“We know that universal access to immunisation is achievable,” noted outgoing African Union Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. “The Addis Declaration on Immunisation is a historic pledge. With political support at the highest levels, we are closer than ever to ensuring that all children in Africa have an equal shot at a healthy and productive life.”
The Addis Declaration on Immunisation calls for countries to increase political and financial investments in their immunisation programmes. It includes 10 commitments, including increasing vaccine-related funding, strengthening supply chains and delivery systems, and making universal access to vaccines a cornerstone of health and development efforts.
“Vaccines are among the most effective public health tools available,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “When children are given a healthy start, communities thrive and economies grow stronger. This show of support from Heads of State is a significant step forward in our efforts to achieve universal access to immunisation and, ultimately, improve child health and drive sustainable development across Africa.”
Fewer than 15 African countries fund more than 50% of their national immunisation programmes. As Africa nears polio eradication, critical funding for immunisation through the polio eradication programme is expected to ramp down. Additionally, countries approaching middle-income status will transition away from Gavi support for immunisation in the coming years. Consequently, governments must redouble their efforts to make universal immunisation coverage a national priority.
“As long as even one child in Africa lacks access to immunisation, our work remains unfinished,” said Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “With the right mix of political will, financial resources and technical acumen, Africa can – and will – stem the tide of vaccine-preventable diseases across the continent.”
With strong leadership and investment, increased access to immunisation is within reach. For example, in 2010, Ethiopia built 16,000 new health centres, purchased 2,000 battery-free solar refrigerators for vaccine storage, and built a network of millions of health extension workers and volunteers at community level to increase access to immunisation throughout the country. Since these investments were made, Ethiopia has made remarkable gains, with immunisation rates soaring from 61% in 2010 to 86% in 2015.
“Immunisation is one of the smartest investments a country can make in its future,” said Professor Yifru Berhan Mitke, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health. “We must do more to protect all our children from preventable diseases – not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it makes economic sense. When our children are healthy, our families, communities and countries thrive.”
The Addis Declaration on Immunisation was signed by Ministers of Health and other line ministers at the Ministerial Conference on Immunisation in Africa (MCIA) in February 2016 in Addis Ababa. MCIA was the first-ever ministerial-level gathering with a singular focus on ensuring that children across the continent can access life-saving vaccines. To guide the implementation of the ADI, a roadmap is being developed in close collaboration with the WHO offices in the African Region and Eastern Mediterranean Region, the African Union Commission and immunisation partners.
“African leaders are showing outstanding leadership by endorsing this landmark commitment which will allow more African children to be reached with life-saving vaccines no matter where they live,” said Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance board. “We must now ensure that the commitments translate into sustainable financing for immunisation. Gavi stands ready to support African countries in their efforts to implement equitable health approaches and maintain strong immunisation coverage so we can create together a more prosperous future for communities across our continent.”
Ogun State Government has said that it will partner with the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) to regenerate its forest reserves, revitalise forestry activities and mitigate the impact of climate change in the state.
Canoeing in the Omo Forest Reserve, Ogun State
Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal, made the disclosure recently in Abeokuta, the state capital, while addressing the stakeholders at a forum tagged: “Deforestation for Charcoal Production” organised by the university to familiarise the public on the benefits of charcoal and how to manage tree exploitation for charcoal production without necessarily depleting the forest.
Lawal, in a statement signed by his Press Officer, Olusola Olubodun, noted that incessant exploitation of immature trees without replacing them was a major cause of deforestation leading to climate change.
He said: “Once a tree that stores carbon dioxide is felled, carbon dioxide is released into the air in excess, while oxygen that is supposed to be released for human benefit would either cease or reduce in quantity.”
The Commissioner expressed government’s readiness to collaborate with the institution towards regenerating the forest and re-orientating members of the public on how to carry-out charcoal production without endangering the forest and its ecosystem.
He advised the general public to always notify the ministry before felling any tree in line with Ogun State Forestry law, to enable government put necessary measures in place so as not to pose a threat to the environment.
Director, Directorate of Grants Management of the institution, Professor Kola Adebayo, commended the state government on its efforts at protecting the forest reserves, saying there is room for improvement.
He implored the people of the state to inculcate the habit of planning trees to enhance human survival.
Follow The Money, a campaign being promoted by the Abuja-based Connected Development (CODE) aimed at tracking and monitoring governmental and international aid disbursements, has commended the Federal House of Representatives (HOR) for commissioning its committees on Anti-Corruption, Environment and Habitat to begin an investigation over the last administration’s “Clean CookStoves For Rural Women Project,” a N9.287 billion scheme initiated in 2014 to supply 750,000 units of clean stoves and 18,000 wonderbags to rural women.
The clean cookstoves imported under the N9.2 billion Federal Government project
On January 24, 2017, the Reps adopted a motion moved by James Faleke on the urgent need to investigate the N9.2 billion made available by government to provide the stated items.
In September 2015, Follow The Money, which had been tracking the expenditure of the N9.2 billion since it was approved in November 2014, released and submitted a report to the National Assembly and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), stating that only 45,000 clean cookstoves were provided and exhibited at the Velodrome of the National Stadium in Abuja.
The report also stated that, out of the N9.2 billion, the Federal Ministry of Finance only released N5 billion to the Federal Ministry of Environment for the execution of the project, and the Ministry of Environment only released N1.3 billion (15%) to the contractor of the project – Integra Renewable Energy Services Limited.
On learning about the investigation of the project by the HOR, Hamzat Lawal, the Chief Executive of CODE and Co-Founder of Follow The Money, said: “We applaud such phenomenal initiative by our law makers. We believe that such investigation would trigger proper sanctions for those that compromised the rule of law in the process of the project meant for rural poor women.
“Till today, we have not seen any single beneficiary of the cookstoves. Where are the 45,000 stoves that were procured?
“Ultimately, we call on the respective HOR committees to conduct the investigation in an open forum so that all relevant stakeholders, including the civil society and media, can participate, give feedbacks, share their findings on the white elephant scheme’s saga and ensure transparency in the investigation.”
According to CODE, the Anti-Corruption committee of the HOR will be investigating details of the contract, number of cookstoves supplied, mode of distribution and details of beneficiaries on a state-by-state basis. The group adds that the Reps will likewise seek to determine the status of the balance of N952,000,000 that is with the contractor since 750,000 units would have been supplied at a unit cost of N464, totalling N348,000,000 out of the N1.3 billion paid out.
In addition, CODE discloses, the committee will confirm the status of the balance of N3.7 billion which is outstanding from the initial payment to the Federal Ministry of Environment.
The lawmakers are expected to report back to the House within six weeks for further legislative actions.
The United States will switch course on climate change and pull out of a global pact to cut emissions, said Myron Ebell, who headed U.S. President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team until his inauguration.
Myron Ebell, head of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team. He says the country will soon switch course on climate change
“(Trump) could do it by executive order tomorrow or he could do it as part of a larger package,” Ebell told a conference in London on Monday, 30 January 2017. “I have no idea of the timing.”
Trump, a climate change doubter, campaigned on a pledge to boost the U.S. oil and gas drilling and coal mining industries by slashing regulation. He also promised to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement aimed at curbing global warming.
Trump’s administration has asked the EPA to temporarily halt all contracts, grants and interagency agreements pending a review, according to sources.
Ebell, who helped guide the EPA’s transition after Trump was elected in November until he was sworn in on January 20, said it was difficult to predict the timing of any action because government departments are still in transition.
Ebell is Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington.
Trump appointed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who has led 14 lawsuits against the EPA, as the agency’s administrator, although a vote on his nomination has not been scheduled.
Trump also has drawn heavily from the energy industry lobby and pro-drilling think tanks to build its landing team for the EPA, according to a list of the newly introduced 10-member team seen by Reuters on Monday.
Science and Technology news The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), at its Annual General Meeting held in Lagos on Thursday, 26th of January, 2017, has inducted Professor Kalu Mosto Onuoha as its new President.
Professor Kalu Mosto Onuoha, 18th president of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS)
Professor Onuoha took over from Professor Oyewale Tomori, a virologist, who served as President of the Academy between January 2013 and January 2016. Mosto, as he is fondly called, was the Academy’s Treasurer before he became Vice president in 2013.
In his acceptance speech, the new President said he was honoured to be elected as president of Nigeria’s foremost science organisation. Professor Onuoha, a Fellow of NAS, served as the pioneer Mobil Professor of Petroleum Geology at the Mobil Producing Nigeria’s Chair of Geology at the University of Calabar (1991-92). He also served as Technology Development Adviser (Subsurface Development Services) at the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Port Harcourt (1996-2002), and Shell/NNPC Professor of Geology at the Shell Chair, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2003-2012). Prof. Onuoha additionally has served the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in many capacities, including as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) between 2005 and 2009. Currently, he is the PTDF Chair of Petroleum Geology at the UNN.
In a statement, the NAS executive secretary, Dr Oladoyin Odubanjo, submitted: “Prof. Onuoha’s record of professional activities, community service, and services rendered to our nation, Nigeria includes membership of the Editorial Board of several reputable local and international scientific journals, Member of the Governing Council of Abia State University, Uturu (2000-2006), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2005-2009), Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State (2015-2016), Visiting Professor to the African University of Science & Technology, Abuja (since 2010), and to the Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo, and Member of the Board of Assessors (Science), Nigerian National Order of Merit (2003-2008).
“For the next four years, he will be leading the Nigerian Academy of Science in achieving an improved quality of life for the Nigerian society through the promotion and application of science and technology; as well as strengthen the nation’s ability to deliver the fruits of science to society by the acquisition, growth, and dissemination of sound scientific knowledge and facilitation of its use in the solution of major national problems.”
Established in 1977, the NAS is the foremost independent scientific body in Nigeria dedicated to the development and advancement of science, technology, and innovation, bringing scientific knowledge to positively guide policies/strategic direction of the country.
Fiji has outlined its leadership priorities ahead of its Presidency of COP 23 – the UN negotiations on climate change – on day one of a three-day meeting (30 Jan. – 1 Feb.) between Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and a delegation from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) led by its Executive Secretary, Ms. Patricia Espinosa.
Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji
The meeting also included Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Minister for Agriculture and National Disaster Management Inia Seruiratu – who is Fiji’s designated Climate Action Champion – and the Permanent Secretaries for the Office of the Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs, Civil Service, Environment, and Economy.
At the meeting, Fiji updated the UNFCCC on its preparatory work to meet the duties and responsibilities leading up the COP Presidency and its agenda for the upcoming negotiations.
Prime Minister Bainimarama identified climate adaptation finance, effective monitoring of adherence through the rulebook to the Paris Agreement and the objectives of the Climate Action Agenda as key issue areas for the Fijian presidency.
“Our Presidency will keep the interests of all nations – including those that are low-lying and vulnerable – at the forefront of our negotiations. We are also focused on turning the words and commitments of the Paris Agreement into measurable actions on the part of all nations, and are calling for transparent systems of accountability and practical outcomes to ensure the agreement is a success,” he said.
Prime Minister Bainimarama also pointed to the need for greater engagement from the private sector, NGOs and civil society in support of Fiji’s global effort to boost access to climate finance and reduce climate risks to developing economies.
Fiji will serve as the President of the COP 23 negotiations to be held in Bonn, Germany from 6-17 November 2017, making history as the first-ever small island state to hold the Presidency.
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, has warned US President Donald Trump not to pull out of the Paris climate accord.
Donald Trump, US president
“Ultimately, this is about the competitiveness of the United States,” Espinosa, a former Mexican Ambassador to Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Slovakia, said recently in an interview.
During the election campaign, Trump repeatedly called for a renegotiation of the UN accord, whose aim is to keep global temperature increases well below 2 degrees Celsius by transforming the global economy away from fossil fuels this century.
“We do not know what he will do – all we know so far is that his stance differs from that of the Obama administration,” Espinosa, who served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of President Felipe Calderón, also said.
The hard-won accord reached by some 195 nations in December 2015 is viewed sceptically by Trump, who has indicated that climate change is a hoax and said environmental regulations were “out of control” at a recent meeting with US carmakers.
“They destroyed my cassava, yam, cocoa-yam, vegetable and my traps as well, everything has been destroyed. Oh! If you see what these herdsmen have done to me, you will weep for me.”
A armed herdsman
This was the lamentation of one Mr. Chijoke Nwachukwu, a farmer from Mgbede community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“Every place we used to farm is lama, lama (the local name for cows). Lama has filled everywhere so there is no way we can farm; this is very bad,” he adds.
Mr. Nwachukwu is just one of the numerous people hard hit by the rampaging herdsmen and their cattle. There has been no love lost between the communities of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area and the herdsmen as some people still remember the tragic events that caused the animosity between the herdsmen and their host communities.
Prince Obinna Peters of Obiakpu, a neighbouring community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, recalls: “I can still remember that fateful day Mrs Akuoyibo Ndudi had gone to farm to weed her cassava farm. As she got there she fell into the waiting arms of the herdsmen who laid an ambush for her, having had an altercation with some members of the community whom the herdsmen’s cows had eaten their cassava. The woman, who was pregnant, was murdered in cold blood. Her unborn baby was removed from her womb and murdered as well.”
These killings sparked off a bitter war between the herdsmen and the Obiakpu community. The youths of the community mobilised and went after the herdsmen who, at the end of the day, were dislodged from the community.
Another woman who tasted the bitter herbs of the herdsmen is Mrs. Adanna Ifeakachukwu, a widow in her late 50s. Mrs. Ifeakachukwu told this Reporter that, last September, she has gone to uproot cassava near the Orashi River along Ndoni Road close to a former PGH Camp site, and she left her bicycle near the road while she went into her farm.
“After harvesting the cassava, I carried the bag of cassava to where I parked my bicycle but the bicycle had been completely damaged. The place looked like some elephants were fighting there,” she says. When she looked up, she saw the herdsmen and their cattle as they headed down the river. She summoned courage and went to the river bank to meet them. The herdsmen denied that their cows were responsible for the damaged bicycle.
“When I insisted that they should repair my bicycle, one of them pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot me if I made noise or uttered a word of what happened to someone else. I cried and cried, then I wiped my tears and said to myself, at least I am alive, and the worst could have happened.”
Narrating his own ordeal, another farmer, Mr. Nnanna Okoro, who is aged 47 years, told EnviroNews: “The cows ate up the leaves and tubers of my cassava. Even when you harvest and keep it in your farm, they were eaten up, so what will I do now?”
Mr. Tito Ezebuike had gone to his farm one morning in November 2016. He recalls: “As I approached my farm, I saw a herd of cattle feeding on my cassava so I pulled my cutlass and seized the nearest person, saying: ‘You will pay me for my cassava’. He said, ‘No be me o, my brother,’ pointing to the other herdsman. As I made for the other man, he uttered a kind of command and, immediately, all the cows scattered and took to their heels. I followed them, but it was too late; in a minute, they were all gone – cows and herdsmen.
Tito Ezebuike’s story somehow illustrates how potentially dangerous the situation could be.
But these entire episode to insignificance when compared to the wanton destruction of crops going on daily at the Ogbreanya and Ntu Farmland, described as the “scorched earth” by Chief Levi Ekukwu. According to him, “the outcry by the women and men who farm in this area is so unbearable. Everyday, farmers come to me crying about what the herdsmen and their cattle are doing to them.”
Chief Ekukwu told EnviroNews: “The combined losses of farmers run into millions of Naira. So when all the farmers met and on the 20th of September 2016 we raised a letter to the Divisional Police officer in charge of Omoku , Divisional Police Headquarters, describing the damages done to our farms by the herdsmen.”
The letter, which was made available to EnviroNews, reads in part: “It should be noted that some of these farmers whose farms have been destroyed borrowed the money from banks and cooperative societies to finance their farms with a promise to pay back with the proceeds from the farms.”
In an interview, another farmer, Chief Samuel Ogbangwo, from Mgbede-Egbema in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, said: “There will be hunger, because the cassava and other crops we are to harvest now have been eaten up by cows.”
Chief Ogbangwo, who is one of the signatories to the petition to the DPO of Omoku Police, said that the Divisional Police Officer arranged a meeting between the affected farmers and the herdsmen (one Alhaji Yahaya and his brother) on the 3rd 0f October 2016. They all agreed on the need to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the farms.
Chief Ogbangwo continued: “So the DPO assigned some policemen led by the O/C Crimes who were joined by some members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) that led us to the farms. As we got to the farm, Chief Levi Ekukwu said, ‘We saw how the cows have eaten several hectares of cassava farms, we saw fresh cow dung everywhere. I then asked Alhaji Yahaya, ‘Who ate all these cassava?’ And he said, ‘Cows, but not my cows.” Then, I asked him, ‘Whose cows did it?’ But he didn’t answer.”
Chief Ekukwu told this Reporter that when they returned to the station the DPO decided to mediate on the matter. “At a meeting held on the 6th of October 2016 at the DPO’s Office, Alhaji Yahaya and his brother agreed not to take their cows to graze in the farms again. When the farmers pressed for damages for the losses they suffered, Alhaji Yahaya refused to take responsibility.
“Several weeks passed by and the cow were not seen again, so we started replanting the cassava. But, all of a sudden, the cows have come back in full force,” he said sadly.
When the Reporter asked Chief Samuel Ogbangwo, one of the farmers, how they hoped to handle the situation, he said, “We can’t fight but we will seek for justice.” He disclosed that the traditional rulers have been involved in the matter. The traditional rulers could not be reached as at the time of going to the press but their spokesperson, Nelson Ekperi, an engineer, confirmed that the traditional rulers in the area held a meeting on Sunday, 15th of January 2017 and that they would soon officially come out with their position on the matter.
